Constitution of the United States: Article VI. All Debts contracted and Engagements entered, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and Judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; and no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Indian treaty rights derive from treaties between tribal nations and the U. S. government, authorized by the Constitution’s Treaty Clause (Article II, Section 2), which granted vast lands to the U.S., also included reserved rights for tribes, such as hunting, fishing, education, and self-government, that were not expressly granted away. The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8) further established Congress’s authority to regulate commerce with Indian tribes and underscored their unique political status. This means tribes are not racial or ethnic minorities but separate inherent political entities with the right to sell-govern.
Alaska Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan signed on to a letter with 10 other U.S. senators, calling on the U. S. Department of Education to reverse the decision to cut millions in congressionally approved grant funding for Naïve American-serving colleges and universities nationwide. The group of three Republicans and nine Democratic senators rejected the claims, saying “to be clear, these grants do not impose racial quotas or restrict admissions based on race, but support institutions that deliver on the federal trust responsibility to provide an education for American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian because of their unique legal status and political relationship with the United States.” ICT, September 24, 2025.
The U, S. has a trust responsibility to protect sovereign Indian nations, a relationship defined by treaties, statutes, and court decisions. The treaty cessions provided one billion acres of land to the United States. The inclusion of education in U.S. Indian treaties is the basis for the Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act.
The U.S. trust responsibility to protect Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) has been negligent from the U. S. Bureau of Indian Education. The negligence for protection of Haskell students of the BIA has been cited in the proposed Haskell Indian Nations
University Improvement Act. The BIE’s negligence in trust responsibility at Haskell is evident in many ways. Deferred maintenance is the primary breach of trust from the BIE.
The BIE has negligently abandoned their trust responsibility to Haskell students resulting in ‘at risk” notice issued by the Higher Learning Commission. The Congress in a 2024 congressional hearing report described Haskell as “severely dysfunctional”. The catastrophic failure at Haskell of the BIA impacts every Indian beneficiary of the 574 federally enrolled tribes in the United States. Congress must act swiftly and decisively in its oversight trust responsibility of Haskel Indian Nations University. Federal statistics rank Native American as the least educated citizens in America. Education is essential for improving the quality of life for Indian people.
The proposed Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act Section 2. Findings: is related to the need for a culturally relevant education for Indians, the historical context behind the formation and evolution of Haskell Indian Nations University, and neglect of governing duties from the Bureau of Indian Education. The BIA does not directly set standards for higher education but instead funds and oversees postsecondary schools and provides financial aid to students attending accredited institutions, i.e., Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI). Standards for accredited higher education are developed and enforced by external bodies, not BIE.
Cultural learning standards is critical and essential in federal Indian treaty and trust obligations to Indian beneficiaries as cited in the proposed HINU Improvement Act. The BIA is negligent in not developing and enforcing Indian cultural learning standards is a violation of treaty and trust responsibility. External bodies, i.e., the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) develop standards for Haskell. The Indian students at Haskell are ‘under the thumb of the BIE and Indian people have no control or authority in the governance practiced at Haskell. Deferred maintenance is the cause of Haskell’s “at risk” status notice issued from the HLC. The greatest challenge to reverse the
death spiral of deferred maintenance at Hasell is the control and authority exercised by the BIE.
The greatest potential for education to preserve Indian culture lies in the Haskell Indian Nations University Improvement Act. The explicit legal obligation as expressed in the HINU Improvement Act is to provide unique Indian History. The HINU Improvement Act transforms rhetoric of “Indian control” to quality education.
M’gwitch,
Steve Cadue
Kickapoo Nation Kansas
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